Metallic railway-tie.



S. V, FULLAWAY, SR.

METALLIC RAILWAY TIE.

APPLICATION HLED MAYI8,'19I6.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

2 SHEETS.SHE ET 1.

ammo a Elttomvw WASNINGIUN D- C. I

S. V. FULLAWAY, Sn.

METALLIC RAILWAY TIE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY m, 1916.

1,21 9,541, Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNTTE @T METALLIC RAILWAY-TIE.

Application filed May 18, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL V. FULL- AWAY, Sn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metallic Railway-Ties of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in railway ties, and has for its principal object to provide a tie of which all parts employed may consist of metal, and so constructed that expansion, and contraction may be provided for, and that vibration may be practically eliminated. The invention also has reference to such a construction that the work of track laying may be expedited and simplified and spreading of the rails will be prevented.

lVith the foregoing objects in view and others to be hereinafter mentioned, the invention presents a novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as described herein and claimed, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it being understood that changes in form, size, proportion and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that no limitation will be imposed as to the kinds of metal employed.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a metallic railway tie embodying my invention, a pair of track rails being added and in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail relating to Fig. 1, parts being broken away and in section to clearly show construction. Fig. 4i is aside view of a slide plate and an end view of an angle bar integral. therewith. Fig. 5 shows an end view of the slide plate and parts connected therewith, being a sectional view on line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of parts shown in Fig. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a slide plate and the angle bar. Fig. 8 is a view in longitudinal section of a part of a railway tie taken through the middle of one of the boxes. Fig. 9 is a plan view of an adjusting plate. Fig. 10 is an end view of the adjusting plate. Fig. 11 is a front side view of the adjusting plate. Fig. 12 is a plan view of an adjusting spring. Fig. 13 is a side view of the slide plate provided Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

Serial No. 98,303.

with a clamp, an adjusting spring being added. Fig. 1 1 is a side view of the slide plate, provided with a brace. Fig. 15 is a transverse section on line 15 15 of Fig. 6, the track rail being omitted.

Referring now to the drawing for a more particular description, the railway tie consists of an elongated, metallic body 1 having a suitable width and a length greater than the distance apart of the rails 2 to be supported thereon, the preferred construction for the body of the tie being of inverted T-shape provided near each of its ends with a rectangular box 3 upon. which the rails 2 are disposed, each box being provided on its inner, vertical wall a with a curved plate or clamp 4, its curvature being upwardly and inwardly of the box, so that it will. be disposed above the inner flange b of thebase of a rail.

At 5 (Figs. 9, 10, 11) is indicated an adjusting-plate consisting of a rectangular, elongated plate 6 incised a part of its length, near one of its side edges to open on its ends, and bent transversely toprovide a stem 7 and a pair of curved spring-arms 8, each arm being bent to provide a terminal finger 9.

These adjusting-plates are for the purpose of permitting contraction and expan sion after the rails have been secured to the tie, and for preventing vibration, and each is disposed with its plate 6 interposed between and in engagement with a clamp 41 and a flange 7) of a rail, its curved springarms engaging the inner side of a clamp i at the junction of said clamp and-the inner,

vertical wall a of a box 3, the fingers 9' being disposed at the ends of the clamp to prevent any longitudinal movement of said adjusting-plate.

As thus described, the rails 2, when mounted upon the tie, maybe moved by any suitable force applied thereto, toward the clamps at so that the plates 6 will be engaged between the inner base-flange 7) of the rails and the clamps, as explained, the springs 8 being compressed to permit a required degree of expansion or contraction, and operating effectively to prevent vibration.

For the purpose of providing mountings for the bases of rails 2, and in order that the adjusting-plates and their spring-arms may discharge the functions mentioned,

slide-plates 10- (Fig. 7) are employed, each being provided with a clamping member or angle bar 11 at its outer end, its inner end being provided with a lug or tongue 12 midway between its side edges, said tongue being provided with a slot 13 (Fig. 7) and as thus described, each slide plate is adapted to be moved inwardly of the railway tie, its side edges having a tongueand-groove connection 141, best shown in Fig. 5, at the top of a box, and in effect providing a slidable lid or cover for a box 3, its lug 12 passing through an aperture 15 formed in the wall a of said box, near the lower end of a clamp 1.

Numeral 16 indicates a suitable keeper or split key which is inserted in the slot 13 of the lug l2, and it will be understood that this key, when driven home, will cause the plate 10 to be maintained in. stationary relation with reference to the railway tie, and will cause the lower part of the angle bar 11 to engage the outer flange c of the rail 2 and will cause its upper end to engage the lower part of the ball or tread (Z of said rail, as plainly shown in Fig. 3, the spring-arms 8 at this time being compressed.

It will thus be seen that any liability of a spreading of the rails, by use of the herein described tie, may be practically eliminated since outward movements of the rails will be prevented by the angle bars and keys 16; and. while any appreciable inward movement of the rails will be prevented by the means described, a certain degree of resilience will be provided for the purposes mentioned. It will also be noted that the conventional spikes and metallic tie-plates used for fiber or wood ties, may be dispensed with.

Fig. 13 illustrates a slide plate 10 provided with a clamping member 17 formed as a curved plate, and Fig. 14 shows a slide plate 10 provided with a clamping member or brace 18. The slide plates 10, 10 and 10 are alike in construction and they may be provided, integrally, with either the 'angle bar 11,.the curved clamping plate 17 or the brace 18, as may be required.

In instances where trains move upon curves, or if rails of heavy type are employed, the angle bars 11 or baces 18 are desirable for the slide plates. If the rails are of lighter construction the slide plates may be provided with the curved clamping plates 17 to advantage. If the curved clamping plates 17 are employed, curved springs 19 (Figs. 12, 13) may also be used and interposed between the edges of the flanges 0 of the bases of the rails and inner sides of said clamping plates. While the mounting thus provided will not permit appreciable spreading of the rails, the springs 19 operate to prevent vibration, said springs being provided with transverse, terminal The cross-ties thus described facilitate rapid track laying, the distance apart of the clamps l, for each tie, corresponding to the gage required. Also it is obvious that the construction will be operative regardless of the size of the flanges 01'' the rails, since the tongues 12 oil the slide plates and the slots therein may have any suitable length. It is considered tha the parts employed are few and simple and may be conveniently produced.

Having fully described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. A railway cross tie, comprising an elongated body provided at its top with a pair "of outwardly projecting clamping members and formed with recesses opening on its top inwardly of said clamping members, and having transversely disposed, apertured walls, a pair of slide plates each being provided with an apertured lug at its inner end and an inwardly projecting clamping member at its outer end, and having a tongue-and-groove connection with said body, said slide plates being movable inwardly of the ends of the tie to dispose their ends upon opposed sides of a rail and to engage a rail between an outwardly projecting clamping member and an inwardly projecting clamping member, its apertured lug traversing one of the transversely disposed, apertured walls of said body, and a pair of keepers each being adapted to engage in the aperture of a lug of a slide plate while disposed in a recess of said elongated body.

2. A metallic railway cross tie, compris; ing a tie body provided inwardly of each of its ends with a transversely disposed, apertured wall having a curved flange projecting above said body, a pair of metallic slide plates each having an upwardly projecting curved part near one of its ends its opposite end being provided with an outwardly convergent lug, each slide plate being movable longitudinally inwardly of the tie body to dispose its ends upon opposed sides of a rail and to cause engagement of a rail between a curved flange or" a trans-' versely disposed wall of the tie body and an upwardly projecting curved part of a slide plate, its outwardly convergent lug traversing the aperture of a transversely disposed wall of the tie body, and keepers disposed inwardly of the transversely disposed walls of the tie body in engagement with the convergent lugs of the slide plates.

3. An apertured metallic railway cross tie provided at its top with a pair of outwardly projecting clamping members, a pair of metallic slide plates each being provided at its inner end with an apertured tongue and at its outer end with an inwardly projecting clamping member and having a tongue-and-groove connection with the cross tie, each of said slide plates being movable inwardly of the ends of the tie for engaging a rail between an outwardly projecting clamping member and an inwardly projecting clamping member, its tongue traversing an aperture of said tie, and a key member in each aperture of a slide plate to prevent an outward movement thereof after it has been moved inwardly of the ends of the tie.

t. A metallic railway tie provided near its ends with outwardly projecting clamping members, a pair of adjusting plates each being incised and bent near one of its side edges to provide a pair of longitudinally curved elastic arms with terminal, transversely disposed fingers, said adjusting plates being disposed upon the inner sides of the clamping members with their transversely disposed fingers projecting outwardly of the ends thereof, a pair of metallic slide plates provided near their outer ends with inwardly projecting clamping members and having tongue-and-groove connections with the cross tie for movements toward each other longitudinally of said tie, and means to maintain the slide plates in stationary relation with the cross tie after they have been moved.

5. A railway tie provided at its top with a pair of outwardly projecting clamping members, a pair of slide plates, each having a tongue-and-groove connection with the tie and provided at its outer end with an inwardly projecting clamping member to cooperate with said outwardly projecting clamping member for engaging a rail therebetween, spring members disposed on the inner sides of the rails and provided with transverse terminals engaging the ends of the clamping members, each of said slide plates being movable inwardly of the ends of the tie for compressing the spring members between the rail and an outwardly projecting clamping member and an inwardly projecting clamping member, and means to prevent an outward movement of the slide plates after they have beenmoved inwardly of the ends of the tie.

6. An apertured metallic railway tie provided near its ends with outi'vardly projecting clamping members, a pair of adjusting plates each being incised and bent near one of its side edges to provide a pair of longitudinally curved, elastic arms with terminal, transversely disposed lingers projecting outwardly of the ends thereof, a pair of metallic slide plates each being provided at its inner end with an apertured tongue and provided near its outer end with an inwardly projecting clamping member and having a tongue-and-groove connection with the cross tie, each of said slide plates being movable inwardly of the ends of the tie for engaging a rail between an outwardly projecting clamping member and an inwardly projecting clamping member, its tongue traversing an aperture of said tie, and a key member in each aperture of a slide plate to prevent an outward movement thereof after it has been moved inwardly of the ends of a tie.

7. In a railway tie, a metallic, elongated body of inverted T-shape having recesses opening on its top and a convergent projection in each recess, said elongated. body being provided near each of its ends with a rectangular box having an apertured end wall with a curved flange projecting above and overhanging a part of its open top, a pair of slide plates each having a tongueand-groove connection with the walls of a boX and being provided near one of its ends with a clamping member, its opposite end being provided with a lug, each slide plate being movable inwardly and longitudinally of a box to dispose its ends upon opposed sides of a rail, its lug traversing the aperture of said end wall, and split key-members engaging the lugs of the slide plates and disposed in the recesses of said elongated body in engagement with said convergent projections.

8. In a cross tie for the support of track rails having opposed longitudinal flanges, an elongated, metallic tie body provided adjacent to its ends with transversely disposed, apertured walls and provided with a 'pair of outwardly projecting clamping plates, a pair of slide plates disposed below and projecting beyond each of the flanges of the track rails, each being provided with a clamping plate near one of its ends, its opposite end being provided with a convergent lug, resilient members engaging the clamping plates, said slide plates being movable toward each other for causing a compression of the resilient members, the convergent lugs traversing the apertures of the transversely disposed walls of the tie body, and convergently formed key-members engaging the convergent lugs of the slide plates.

9. An apertured metallic cross tie formed integrally at its top adjacent to its ends with curved plates, a pair of slide plates, each being formed at its inner end with a slotted key members for engaging in the slots of tongue and provided at its outer end with a said tongues.

curved plate, spring members carried by the In testimony whereof, I have afilxed my curved plates, the slide plates having .a signature in presence of two Witnesses. tongue-and-groove connection with and be- SAMUEL V. FULLAWAY, SR. ing movable toward each other longitudi- WVitnesses:

nally of the cross tie for causing the tongues JOHN H. GRossMANN,

to traverse the apertures of the cross tie, and HIRAM A. STURGES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

